Means for boring wells



Patented June 20 1922.

flair srra.

MATTHEW T. CHAPMAN, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO TIIE AMERICAN WELL WORKS, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

MEANS FOR BORING WELLs.

Specification of Letters latentg Patented June 20, 1922,

Application filed October 28, 1918. Serial No. 260,044.

MAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Aurora, in the county of Kane,

State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Bop ing \Vells, of which the following is a spec fication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improved means for boring wells. Frequently with the tools and apparatus as now generallyemployed for this purpose the boring of a deep and approximately perfectly straight hole is a matter very difficult of accomplishment owing to the varying character of the strata through which the bore is to be forced. By reason of certain of the strata that are encountered being hard on one side and soft on the other, or filled with rocks, or being of varying inclinations, a single earth boring tool is apt to'be deflected from astraight line, and such deflection not only causes great difficulty in further boring but makes it extremely diflicult to properly install,-as is frequently necessary, a centrifugal pumping apparatus in the bore. It is the object of my invention to provide means that will in large measure overcome the difficulties incident to the boring of an approximately vertical hole in the earth, and briefly stated, I accomplish this object by associating two members for the production of such bore, one of such members being in the form of a cylinder or tube and the other member being a drilling tool of novel construction located in the .cylindrical tube member.

These two members while perfectly independent of each other with respect to their being moved in a rotary manner and in a reciprocatory manner are also capable of being, and frequentlywill be, moved in either or both of such ways simultaneously.

lVhile the preferable construction of these parts and the results produced by their separate or joint action will be described fully hereinafter, it should be here stated that each of them is so constructed as to engage and hold small hard particles of material so as to utilize such hard particles as a medium for cutting into and wearing away the bottom and side walls of the bore being formed,

and also it is here pointed out that the boring tool member "located within the cylindrical or tube member isprovidedwith an gom of the borewhen such bottom of the and by reason of bore consists of rocky material. "Such friction between such two surfaces produces a very appreciable amount of heat and to the heated surface of the'rocky formation water is conducted through an opening in the bories ing tool, and the result of such heating and application of water results in aiding the disintegrationof the material so that it is more readily scraped or broken off by the tool in its rotationand more easily chipped and broken off when such tool is dropped upon it forcibly as is done from time to time.

In the drawings,----

Fig. l is a view of one embodiment of my improved boring means in a bore formed by said means,the drilling tool member being in elevation and the cylinder or tube that encloses the drill tool shown in longitudinal vertical section;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the drill tool member of-the boring means; Fig. 3 is a view of the drill tool member, the body thereof being shown in elevation and the bit member partly in vertical section;

li ig. 3 is a bottom view of the drill tool; an r Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the lower end-portion of the cylindrical or tube member of the boring means.

Referring ilOmthB drawings 15 the cylindrical or tube member ofmy' imusual manner.

made of some considerable depth, those on one-surface will come opposite the spaces between adjacent grooves on' the other surface, as clearly shown in Fig. 4 so as not to unduly weaken the tube. 'These grooves provided exwidth and preferably, and especially when member being indicates proved boring means, which member 15 will 1 be the lowermost one of a series of pipe sec 4 16 and 17 are for the purpose'o f'receiving [and temporarilyholding small particles of hard material which act as an abrading means when the tube is rotated to wear away the surface of -the bore being formed and the surface of the core'that results from and fills the member as the makingof the bore progresses. Such wearing away of the material-at these places produces an annular cutting in .which the tubular member turns iand" sufficiently large to permit 2 such member to be'freely drawn up, and

with comparativeease, In the lowerpart of the member 15iI also provide a plurality of quite'long sl'ots 118 which are sofformedi' as to extend .infa'diagonal directionfvwith I their lower endsconsiderably in the'rearof their, forward ends j-the term forward and I rearbeing-used relatively to the direction in 20 which the'member 15 will be-r otated. In allboring operations it is necessary, of course, to furnish water under pressure to the. bottom of the bore and with the boring member"1'5 projected further into the materialbsing bored throughrthan is the other boring-'inember that-will be hereinafter described the water will. pass from such other boring member down through the interior grooves 17 to thesezlarge inclined slots 18, and will thereby bedirected against the wall of the bore near. itslower end. Furthermore, these slots, :as' shown'in Figs. -1 and ,4, will .receive at various' 'point's -in theirlength pieces of hard substances that I i r the member 16, tend to are made use of as an ab ding element, and, in conjunction wit lief; similar but smaller pieces of such substances that lodge in and are carried by the vertical grooves in ofthebore V I N Referring now to the other member of the means that I employ for the boring of the hole, 19 indicates a drilling tool, the body Y of which is ofmaterially greater'width than thickness so that it presents two substantially parallel flat'faces. The general shapeof the body of this moi is best shown by the perspective view'ofit shown in Fig. 2,

r and the bottom view shown in Fig. 3. The

side edges of the body are curved to properly correspond to the cylindrical form of the member 15 in which this tool member 19 is located. Fro n opposite faces of the body of the bori g tool project two lateral extensions 20, the extension that projects from one face being at the opposite'side of the tool from the extension on the opposite face, Each of said extensions has its outer edge curved so as to form a continuation of the.

curved edge of the. body of the tool, and the upper face of such extension is quite sharply curved or inclined. These extensions may be of any height deslred, but I prefer to make them so that their upper ends appreach the upper part of the body of the.

wear awa the wall 'tool, and this for the reason that as the flat Llower faces of the extensions and the body wear away, as they will in use, there will still be preserved a, comparatively sharp cutting edge at the juncture of such flat face of the extension with its inclined upper face.

While such comparatively sharp edges are I thus preserved during the life of this member 19 it is to be understood that such edges are not relied upon in practice for actually cutting or shearing off the material through which the .wellbore is being made, but

rather the function performed by suchedges is' to. cut into and stir up the loosened material at the bottom ofthe hole, suchmaterial being then directed upover the said edge portions, and, with the water which is as usual forced under pressure through the boring pipe hereinafter men tioned, will pass up the inclined faces of the down said extensions 20. The higher the extensions are made the longer will be'the life of the tool. In the drawingsthe sharp cutting edge referred to is indicated by 21 (see Fig. 2). In the construction shown, and with a new tool, the width of the extensions will ordinarily be such that their cutting edges 21 will extend somewhat past the vertical axis of the tool. It will be evident that as.

the boring tool is rotated in the direction to make effective use of the cutting edges the loose material scraped or ground off of the bottom of thejbore being made will, as before stated pass up the inclined surfaces of the extensions, and as much of such material is of the very hard gritty character herelnbefore' referred: to I provide means for catchingsome of-such small particles and utilizing them to act as an abrading or wearing means between' the bottom of the bore being made and the under face of the rotary tool 19. number of openings 22 which. as best shown in Fig. 3, extend diagonally through the extensions and thus conduct such particles to the bottom of the tool in the rear of the-cutting edges 21. Through these holes will also pass some of the water that is fed downward.

through the tool, as {hereinafter explained, such water serving to force the gritty substances through the holes and underneath the drill. As many of these holes 22 'may be Such means consist of a provided through the extensions as desired. f

In the outer. surfaces of the extensions I also provide'anumber of grooves 23 which are also inclined in substantially-the same direction as the holes 22. These grooves extime and by reason of their projection beyond the curved faces of the extensions they will act asan'abrading or wearing medium and cause a wearing away of the wall of the bore being made when the tool 19 is projected below the open lower end of the 'tube member 15, as at times is the case. In time these particles so caught will be so reduced in size that they willpass down and out of the grooves and be further crushed 'and' mixed with the-muddy water in the bottom 7 body of the tool. are also provided,two lateral openlngs 26 of the bore and becarried away as such water is forced out in the usual-manner. The upper end of the tool 19 is provided with a screw-threaded nipple 24 by means of which the tool is securely connected through a coupling 25 with the lower end of a pipe 26 by which the tool is supported androtated, and through which is also supplied under pressure a continuous flow of water which passes through the nipple into a passage 26 that extends centrally through the Below the nipple there one at each side, which communicate with the centralopening- 26 so that a portion of the water may be discharged through them and againstthe material on the inclined faces of the extensions.

It is to be understood that the upper end of the string of pipe sections 26 and the up per end of the string of cylinders or tubes of which the member 15 is the lowermost one will beconnected with suitable mechanism adapted to impart to the two strlngs both a rotary and a reciprocating motion, and that either" string maybe rotated or reciprocated simultaneously with or independently of the i other string. 1 have not deemed it necessa y to illustrate any such elevating or recipro eating mechanism as mechanism for such purposes is well-known, and any usual construction for such purpose may be employed. In the operation of the drilling means comprising the two'principal members 15 and Y19 the character of the strata encountered will often require that for the best results the tubular member 15 be rotated so that it projects down at some little distance below the tool member 19. So forcing it ahead of the tool member will leave, as shown in Fig. 1, a core of material to be operated upon by the drill member. The; formation in this manner of a core ofmaterial enables the tool member to do more rapid and effective work where the material of the core is of a very hard character because when in core shape such material will be more readily broken and disintegrated by the tool than if such tool ,were operating on the material in its original condition. It will be understood that, as is usual, a stream of water will be constantly forced down to the bottom of the bore, as hereinbefore described, and will not only wash away the dQbris but will carry tom of the bore will assist in crumbling and crackingthe hard material of the bore so as to render its removal to be more readily eflected. It will also be understood that in addition to the rotary movement imparted to the tool 19 such tool will be from time to time raised and allowed to drop with great force to further aid in cracking and crushing the material being operated upon.

I have spoken of the small hard particles that are broken from the material being removed being used as the abradant that is caught and held in the various slots, openings and passages of the two members of the boring means, and such material in many instances will be found very satisfactory for the purpose, but under some circumstances, as when passing through strata of a character not adapted for furnishing such small hard particles, I contemplate supplying suchabrading material in the required quantity by dropping it from above through the pipe 26 that carries water under pressure to the bottom of the bore, and when so supplied such material may be in the form of chilled shot, crushed steel, or other small particles of any gritty substances, such as granite, emery, glass or sand. 1

By the use of my improved system of boring means comprising a tool having a flat bottom face rotated in a deep. well by a long v line of boring pipes weighing thousands of pounds, a high degree of heat is developed between the tool and the walls of the bore,

serving to scorch the rock at the bottom of prising the development of a high degree of heat by the use of a fiat-bottomed tool, the directing of the cold water upon the heated bottom face of the bore, and theuse of the means for carrying around with the tool the hard particles of the abrading material, I have been able to attain highly satisfactory results.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

' 1. A rotary boring tool comprising a body portion of materially 'leas qthickness than [sides of said faces, each of-s'aid extensions having inclined upper facesand flat lower faces, said extensions having cutting edges ing small hard pieces of material below'the.

lower faces of said extensions.

2. A rotary boring tool comprising a body portionv of materially less thickness than width and two extensions at the lowerl end of the body, said extensions projecting from.

opposite faces of the body and at opposite and each'having meansfor, conducting small hard articles below their lower faces.

3. rotary boring tool com rising abody portion of materially less t ickness' than width and two extensions at the lower end of thebody, said extensions projecting from opposite faces of the body and at opposite sides of said faces, eachjofisaid extensions having inclined upper faces and fiat lower faces, each of saidextensions having acutting edge and each having inclined passages for conducting small "hard particles below their lower faces and edges. I g j 4. A well-boring drillcomprising a body portion of materially less thickness than in rear of said cutting width and two extensions at the lower end of the body, saidextension's projecting from opposite faces of the body andat opposite sides of said faces,each of saidextenslons' having a smooth lower surface approximately. perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the body, an inclined upper surface and a curvedperiphery, said extensions each having passages for conducting small particles of abrasive materialfr'om said inclined surfaces to and below 'saidjbottom surfaces.

5. A rotary boring tool, comprising a body port-ion of materiallyjlessf thickness thanwidth, and an extension projecting from one face of the body at one sidethere-fl of, said extension beingprovided' with pas sages for conducting sma 1 particles of abrasivematerial below itslower facefl 6. Arotary boring tool comprising abody portion of materially less thickness than width and two extensions at thelow'er end;

of the body, said extensions projecting from opposite faces of the body and at opposite sides of said faces, each of saidpexte'nsions being provided with passages'fon-conduct ing small hardpieces of material below the lower faces of said extensions, said lower faces beingbroad and fiat to cause when rotated a heating by friction'of the hard 1 'material in the bore being formed, *in-combination with means forsupplying water to such material to cause a more rapid disin tegrationthereof.

a v disintegration thereof. A rotary boring tool comprising a body" portion and extensions at the lower end of the body, said extensions projecting from oppositefaces of the body and at opposite 'the body, said extensions projecting from opposite faces ofthebody and at opposite sides of said faces, each of said extensions having inclined upper faces and flat lower faces, said extensions having outting edges and each having'meansv for conducting small hard, articles 'below' their lower faces.

9. rotary boring tool comprising a body portion and extensions at the lower end of the body, said extensions projectingfrom opposite faces of the body and. at opposite having inclined-upper faces and flat. lower sides 1 of said faces, each of said extensions faces, each of said extensionshaving a cutting edge and each having inclined passages .for conducting small hard particles below their lower. faces and in rear ofsaid. cutting edges. 10. A well-boring drill comprising a body portion and extensions at the lower end of the body, said extensions projecting from opposite faces of the body and at opposite sides ofsaid faces,'each of said extensions having a smooth lower surface approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axisvof the body, .an inclined upper surface and'a curved periphery, saidextensions each having passages for conducting small part-i "cles ofabrasive material'from said inclined surfaces to and below said bottom surfaces. 11. Arotary boring tool .comprising a body portion and an extens1on,projecting from the lower end-of the body at one side thereof, said extension being provided with passagesfor conducting small particles of abrasive material below its lower face -which is broad andfiat to cause when rotated a heating by frictionof the hard material in the bore being'formed, in combination with means for supplying water to. such material to cause a more rapid disintegration thereof.

12. A; rotary boring tool: comprising a body portionand extensionsyat the lower end ofthe body, said extensions projecting from- ,oppo'site faces of the body'and -at opposite sides of said faces, each of said extensions being provided with passages for conducting'small hard piecesof material below the lower faces of said extensions, said lower'faces "beingabroad and flattocause when rotated a heating by friction of the hard material in the bore-being formed, in combination with means for supplying water tosuch material to cause 'a'more rapid sw ar J PMA 

